Hamilton’s Rev Pro Live in London 76 08.06.2023 Review

Quick Results
Leon Slater pinned Harrison Bennett in 14:26 (***)
Jude London & Paris de Silva pinned Danny Jones & Brendan White in 14:12 (***½)
Dan Moloney pinned Zak Knight in 8:25 (***¼)
Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews pinned Chuck Mambo & TK Cooper in 13:26 (***¼)
Alex Windsor pinned Hyan in 17:11 to retain the Rev Pro Undisputed British Women’s Championship (***¼)
Michael Oku won an elimination match in 30:09 (***¾)

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— To watch this show, head over to RevProOnDemand.com – they’re currently running a free trial…

We’re back at the 229 in London for the first Rev Pro show since Epic Encounter – particularly since last week’s card in Portsmouth was rearranged late on. Still, we’re less than three weeks out from Rev Pro’s massive 11th Anniversary show… and to get us on the road there, we’ve got commentary from Andy Quildan and Gio Nolastname.

Harrison Bennett vs. Leon Slater
Something tells me Andy especially picked Harrison’s entrance music…

Slater looked to ground Bennett early on, at least until he took Bennett into the corner with a dropkick. Heading outside, Slater dives through the ropes with a dropkick to the back of the head – and kept the focus there once they returned to the ring.

Evading a running kick, Bennett manages to return with a clothesline, only for Slater to chop him into the corner. An uppercut from Bennett made sure that advantage was short-lived though, while a dropkick to the left arm of Slater looked to have the young’un in trouble. At least until Slater caught out Bennett with a misdirection cutter, that is…

Bennett’s caught in the corner with a running dropkick, then with a front kick as he tried to land a discus lariat as Slater almost took home the win… a trip from Bennett took Slater into the corner for an apron superkick, following up with a slingshot stomp back into the ring. A running front kick in the corner looked to lead to a spinebuster… Bennett lands it at the second attempt for a near-fall.

Bennett tries the discus lariat again, but it’s countered into a Twister suplex for a near-fall, only for Slater to get a little ahead of himself as a trip up top ended with Bennett crotching him in the ropes. A death valley driver into the corner from Bennett leads to the discus lariat at the third attempt for a near-fall, as Bennett then looked for a hanging uranage… that Slater kept escaping from.

Hitting back, Slater connected with a pair of leg lariats, then a Blue Thunder Bomb… and that’s enough to get the win. This one was hard hitting, with Slater looking to prove something after the loss to Will Ospreay at York Hall. ***

Greedy Souls (Brendan White & Danny Jones) vs. The VeloCities (Jude London & Paris De Silva)
This marked a Rev Pro return for the Aussies, who were last over here a year ago for Rev Pro’s 10th anniversary weekender… and also the first sighting of the now-former tag champions the Greedy Souls.

De Silva and Jones start us off, but the size difference had Paris on the back foot as Jones took him into the corner with ease… but it did allow Paris to build up speed on the ropes for some headscissors to Jones. Jude London’s in as the cameras had huge trouble keeping up with their pace, as everything was a blur for a while until London took down Jones with a legsweep.

Jones is kept isolated as the Velocities exchanged quick tags, only for Jones to barge the Aussies into each other to counter a double leapfrog attempt. Brendan White’s in next as London gets met with a powerslam, and the former tag champions looked to control things from there.

A snap back suplex, then a pair of back sentons almost put de Silva away… but he eventually fought back with headscissors, only for London to get pulled off the apron by Jones as a press slam put Paris right back where he started. De Silva manages to take Jones down to his knees with a series of elbows, eventually knocking him down with an enziguiri as tags brought in London for headscissors and an armdrag combo.

White closed things down with a clothesline to London, but the Greedy Souls got knocked into each other from there as the crowd again scattered as the Velocities hit duelling topes. Jones’ clothesline looked to shut it down once more as de Silva’s forced to counter that Double T.E.A.M. slam into a DDT.

The Greedy Souls had more luck as a double-team Spin Cycle laid out de Silva… but it’s London who’s legal, escaping his caught crossbody before hitting a handspring double stunner… while White ate a PK and a double stomp for a near-fall. White’s left alien as he tried to clear out the Velocities by himself… an apron piledriver from Jones to de Silva did its bit as London had to kick out from the Hospital Pass slingshot Bossman slam.

A Soul Destroyer’s escaped as London then finds his way in with a sit-out backslide… and that’s enough to get the win as the Greedy Souls became unstuck… and couldn’t decide what to blame it on afterwards. ***½

Zak Knight vs. Dan Moloney
When it comes to results, 2023’s not been Zak’s year in Rev Pro.

Moloney kicks the ropes into Knight as he was trying to come into the ring… but Zak shrugs it off as the pair knocked each other silly on the outside. An eye poke gets Moloney some respite, but Knight just comes back with chops and kicks before they finally hit the ring for bell dot MP3.

Knight stayed on Moloney, raking the webbing between his fingers between the rope, before a sit-out splash and a moonsault nearly put Dan away. Turning it around, Moloney dropkicks Knight into the corner, then raked his face in the ropes ahead of a dropkick to the back.

We go back to strikes as this almost entered the realm of “they know this isn’t meant to be real, right?”, such was the intensity of the chops, before the pair jockeyed over a suplex. Moloney slips out to hit a superkick, but his trip up top is caught and turned into a suplex as Knight bought himself some time.

A right hand drops Moloney ahead of a Michinoku driver for a near-fall, but a jawbreaker and a spinebuster allowed Moloney to hit the 1-2 punch of a stomp and back senton. He antagonised Knight some more by ripping the old Paige Turner finisher for a near-fall.

Knight’s punch starts another salvo back-and-forth, leading to Knight rolling through a suplex into a punch. A springboard uppercut keeps Moloney down, as Knight went for a crucifix powerbomb… it’s escaped though, so Knight cracked back in with a headbutt, before a spear from Moloney off the ropes connected for the three-count. Knight’s claiming he kicked out, but once again it’s just too late as Knight’s losing run continues… ***¼

Post-match, Moloney’s pulled up for an interview – but not before he patronised Knight on his way to the back. Dan’s asked about what happened with Leon Slater… he jokingly put it down to jetlag, but then got a weird obsession with dry lips as he talked about his disgust of Leon being compared to him despite Leon being so young he’s not even got A levels.

Dan took a few digs at Slater, calling him “the man at North” and all the other promotions who couldn’t afford Moloney before, let alone now. There’s more digs as Moloney claimed he “made him”, prompting Slater to hit the ring and send Moloney packing… and despite a broken mic, it looks like we’re going to get those two at the Copperbox.

Sunshine Machine (Chuck Mambo & TK Cooper) vs. Subculture (Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews)
Although announced as an impromptu title defence, commentary clarified this was a non-title outing as Sunshine Machine made their Rev Pro return after four months away.

Andrews and TK get us going as commentary again threatened us with the impending Great British Tag League. It’s the champions who pulled ahead early on, with Flash Morgan Webster’s armdrag and Special Brew Flip senton getting a two-count on Mambo, who then got sunk into the corner with a chop.

Mambo returns the chop as the former champions hit back with the elbow drop/reverse DDT combo on Webster. An Exploder flings Flash across the ring as TK picked up a two-count, before Webster got knocked to the outside for a double sledge off the middle rope from Mambo.

Back inside, Mambo’s surfboard gets released as TK Cooper hit the Flatliner on Webster, before Webster’s attempt to flip over an onrushing Mambo led to him getting sandwiched in the buckles. A legdrop from Mambo nearly puts Webster away, but he’s able to get free as a moonsault press out of the corner took down TK as tags took us to Mambo and Andrews.

A double backflip kick from Andrews has TK and Mambo on the back foot, as did a double tornado DDT out of the corner. The double-teams keep going as a Falcona arrow almost put Mambo away, before a turnaround led to Andrews getting caught with the Gutterball for a near-fall.

TK’s Dodon-lift knee looked to lead to another Gutterball, but Andrews fights out as things descended into a Parade of Moves… ending with a Stundog from Andrews to TK. The pace increases as a frog splash from Mambo nearly won it… TK adds a shooting star press to Webster for a similar result, before an attempt at the Captain Midnight’s Revenge was stopped by Andrews.

Andrews tags back in and looked to capitalise on a distracted Mambo, but see-saw sunset flips yield no winner… but the Blitz-Knee Bop sure does, as Webster’s bicycle knee and Andrews’ reverse ‘rana ended up putting away Mambo. ***¼

Post-match, the Velocities come out to applaud SubCulture… then pointed at the tag title belts as we had a non-verbal challenge, and a non-verbal acceptance, more than likely for the Copperbox.

RevPro Undisputed British Women’s Championship: Hyan vs. Alex Windsor (c)
This was Hyan’s chance to claim the title she’d been cheated out of at York Hall – thanks to Alex Windsor’s cheating ways.

Hyan tried to win this one in rapid fashion, charging Windsor ahead of a Falcon arrow for a two-count as the champion rolled outside… only to eat a low-pe into the crowd. Back inside, a crossbody gets Hyan another two-count as she continued to dominate proceedings.

Windsor escaped some punches in the corner, pulling Hyan into the buckles as the crowd began to taunt Windsor with chants of “should have been vacated.” Ouch. Hyan charges Windsor into the corner to try and break free, but to little avail as Windsor stayed on Hyan with some body scissors.

Hyan rolls back to try and force a pin, then mounted a comeback with elbows… only for Windsor to hang her up in the ropes. A side headlock keeps Hyan down ahead of a levering armbar, but it’s not long before the challenger began to force her way back in… eventually scoring with a running crossbody out of the corner.

A Wasteland and double legdrop gets Hyan a two-count, before a diving knee sent Windsor flying into the corner. Windsor kicks out two, perhaps aided by Hyan trying to keep the arms away from the ropes… but Hyan continued to club away, looking to set up a suplex before a kick toon Windsor into the ropes.

Windsor’s headbutt stopped all that, as did a Shining Wizard, but Hyan’s able to kick out and come right back with a suplex. Windsor’s able to escape a Beauty Treatment, then catch a spear as Hyan’s caught with a DDT instead for a near-fall. A clothesline off the ropes keeps Hyan down again, before Windsor put her into a Tree of Woe… Hyan countered with headscissors before finally crashing into Windsor with the spear, following up with the CT-Knee running knee in the corner for a near-fall.

Hyan’s next crack at the Beauty Treatment’s rolled out of as Windsor fought back with a Blue Thunder Bomb, then with a Sharpshooter… but Hyan held firm and fought free of the hold. Angel’s Wings nearly lead to a title change, before Windsor went over to the corner and grabbed one of her title belts… she also grabbed the ring apron, which distracts the easily-distracted ref, who misses a belt shot that led to the pin. ***¼

Post-match… live at least, things fell apart badly. We’ve a second belt shot from Windsor as Hyan was protesting to the referee, before Windsor got the mic and bragged about it all. Spotting Maya Matthews in the crowd, Windsor took a few verbal jabs… Maya hits the ring, and got headbutted again. The impact broke the mic again, which became a theme for the remainder of the promo as they overcame the mic and it’s iffy battery connection as we powered through Dad jokes, and eventually got to Windsor challenging Mickie James for the Copperbox.

Moving on…

Elimination: Trent Seven, Connor Mills, Jordon Breaks, Wild Boar & Callum Newman vs. Michael Oku, Ricky Knight Jr., Luke Jacobs, Robbie X & Sha Samuels
We’re running under New Japan elimination rules here, and if you’re wondering why Jordon Breaks was on the “baddies” team… pass. Maybe he decided against the reusable water bottle he always had around with him?

First we have a wild brawl among all ten men, sparked by Robbie X leaping into the pile on the floor, quickly followed by Michael Oku, then finally Sha Samuels as the crowd opposite the hard cam were forced to scatter. Things eventually calmed down so a match could break out… starting with Robbie X and Connor Mills’ stalemate ending with Mills getting blasted into the corner with a shotgun dropkick.

Wild Boar and Sha Samuels tag in next, but it’s Sha who pulled ahead with an elbow drop off the middle rope before Jacobs suplexed Boar for a two-count. Boar’s kept cornered as the parade of former champions in the corner had a go, but the sit-down splash from Boar flattened Robbie X as Callum Newman came in to have his turn.

We’re blurry as Newman and Robbie X dialled up the pace, until Newman got held in the ropes for some chops. Newman bails as Jordon Breaks came in to change things up. A monkey flip and a prawn hold has Robbie X on the back foot, before countered hiptosses ended with a Breaks backslide for a two-count.

Sha’s in, but he’s met with a reversed knuckle lock, then a butterfly suplex, before Oku took the same suplex as Breaks proceeded to tie up Robbie X and Luke Jacobs at the same time. Show-off. RKJ’s had enough and kicks the hold apart… Breaks tries to go all ZSJ on him as he floated between holds, before RKJ just walked out of a Euro clutch.

Breaks it back on RKJ though, until the former champion began to rail Jordon with PKs and chops as RKJ began to mark up Breaks’ pale chest. RKJ sets up for a Cobra Twist, but Breaks reverses it as the two jockeyed for position… but it ends with a snap Fire Thunder Driver, and that’s Breaks eliminated just shy of nine-minutes in.

Connor Mills is in to light up Sha Samuels with a series of kicks to the back… then with a Dragon screw after Sha tried to fight back. Sha gets his own back with a volley to the back, before Mills’ running boot to Sha in the corner led to the Orange Crush for a near-fall. Mills gets himself distracted by Michael Oku… and that led to his downfall as Sha Samuels eliminated him with a spinebuster.

Before leaving, Mills pulled Sha off the apron, then chucked him deep into the crowd. Things flare up again before the match resumed with Oku and Newman as things blur with Oku’s ‘rana and dropkick taking Newman into the corner. Newman tries to chop his way back in, but he’s cornered and left for Luke Jacobs to have a go. Oku’s back, but he telegraphs his half crab and gets kicked away, as Newman’s springboard clothesline turned it around.

Oku’s bounced with a Tiger suplex for a near-fall, returning with a Pele kick before he ran into a Blue Thunder bomb. Newman lands a Made in Japan afterwards for a near-fall, with Sha Samnels breaking it up… and getting tossed out. Sha’s back, but so is Boar, as a spear and a cannonball cornered Samuels ahead of a Trapper Keeper for the next elimination.

Robbie X is next to go, barely a minute later, after his flurry of offence ended with Trent Seven chopping away an X-Clamation, before the Emerald Flowsion and a Dragon sleeper left Robbie prone for Boar to score with another Trapper Keeper, bouncing Robbie X on his way to the equalising elimination.

RKJ’s in to overwhelm Wild Boar, stacking him up with Callum Newman for a Samoan drop. A Finlay roll takes Boar back into Newman in the corner, before Trent interjects himself… RKJ laughs him off, cornering Trent in the process ahead of some headbutts and a suplex for a near-fall.

Trent’s taken into the corner as Michael Oku tagged in to get him some, but a half crab’s pushed away as Oku bumped into RKJ, who took that well given they’ve got form for these “accidents.” Trent tries to capitalise, but a superkick from Oku is ducked as RKJ sailed over the top rope and got eliminated by his own man. I believe in video games that’s called a team kill…

RKJ’s furious at that, and in the aftermath Trent low blows Oku… but doesn’t follow-up as Oku rolled over to tag in Luke Jacobs. A sit-out powerbomb gets Luke a near-fall on Newman, but Callum’s back with a hook kick and a reverse ‘rana, before yet another headbutt and a lariat spelled the end for the United Empire’s young boy.

We’re back to two-on-two, but Trent and Boar swarm Jacobs… Luke tries to shrug it off, but Boar grabbed hold of him by the ropes, allowing Trent to clothesline him over the top for the elimination. It’s Oku against Boar and Trent now, and it’s still two-on-one as Boar proceeded to spear/cannonball Oku in the corner, before Oku rolled Boar out of a Trapper Keeper attempt for a near-fall… only to miss a corner dropkick.

Another cannonball follows, but Boar’s Trapper Keeper is again countered, this time into a half crab. Oku lets go so he could neutralise Trent, then roll up Boar for the elimination just shy of the half-hour mark. Conveniently, that leaves us with Trent and Oku… Trent misses a belt shot, wiping out Wild Boar – with the belt spilling into the crowd as a fan clung onto the belt.

Once Trent had reclaimed it though, he turned his eyes on Michael Oku, only to get low bridged… and that’s Michael Oku winning this as your sole survivor. These elimination matches can be a bit much, but they’re rarely a let down as a main event… ***¾

Post-match, Oku took his sweet time getting his belt back… Trent of course tries to snatch it, leading to a tug of war that was ended by a low blow from Trent, ahead of a returning Levi Muir attacking Oku from behind. A TKO from Muir lays out Oku, as Levi aligned himself with Trent… who cut a promo with the broken mic as Muir seems to be the next problem for Oku to deal with heading into the Copperbox.

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

A lively show at the 229 - live, and on tape - kicked off anniversary month in style as Rev Pro geared up for their biggest show ever… and firmly placed the spotlight here on the big British Heavyweight title match at the end of the month.